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Monday, March 29, 2010

A tribute to Sachin Tendulkar who defeats a language

Since the time a man called Sachin Tendulkar picked up a bat and started playing as a child, such has been the mesmerising sight that people have not been able to refrain themselves from describing it.

Starting with 'a child prodigy' then came the all the common adjectives- great, super, majestic, amazing which all seem so petty now, then came genius, master, little master and master blaster, even higher - legend of the game and he was only 25 then. At that moment itself, it should have become apparent to all, that soon the English language and its vocabulary would be found inadequate and that people are going to run out of words to describe this man.

People realized this soon and so started to use their creativity and thus came descriptions like..10dulkar and 'ton'dulkar and one banner said- Indians play with 20 players- 10 cricketers + 10dulkar.

And soon enough, people started describing him as the highest that they could possibly imagine, which for humans is 'God'. And that is how Sachin Tendulkar became the God.
It started with - "Cricket is my religion and Sachin Tendulkar is my God"
Now it has become common to call him the 'God of Cricket'
One of the most innovative ones which caught everyones' attention was- "Commit all your sins when Sachin is batting. They will go unnoticed for even the lord is busy watching him."
And one of the latest one- "GOD wanted to play cricket, so Sachin was born"

And for all you greatest Sachin Tendulkar fans, here are 50 various, famous quotes by other greats on Sachin Tendulkar-

1) "Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it." Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a flight

2) "Sometimes you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar that you lose focus on your job." - Yaseer Hameed

3) "To Sachin, the man we all want to be"- What Andrew Symonds wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin

4) Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their TV sets and switch off their lives "- BBC on Sachin

5)"But the finest compliment must be that bookmakers would not fix the odds - or a game - until Tendulkar was out."

8) "We did not lose to a team called India...we lost to a man called Sachin" - Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)

9) "The more I see of him the more confused I'm getting to which is his best knock."- M. L. Jaisimha

10) "The joy he brings to the millions of his countrymen, the grace with which he handles all the adulation and the expectations and his innate humility all make for a one-in-a-billion individual,"- Glenn McGrath

11) "I can be hundred per cent sure that Sachin will not play for a minute longer when he is not enjoying himself. He is still so eager to go out there and play. He will play as long as he feels he can play,"- Anjali Tendulkar

12) "I have seen God, he bats at No.4 for India"- Matthew Hayden

13) "Even my father's name is Sachin Tendulkar."- Tendulkar's daughter, Sara, tells her class her father's name after the teacher informs them of a restaurant of the same name in Mumbai

14) "I am fortunate that I've to bowl at him only in the nets!"- Kumble

15) Shahrukh (quoting Shahrukh from an interview)

"Que: Who do you think as most important celebrity ?
Shahrukh: There was a big party where stars from bollywood and cricket were invited. Suddenly, there was a big noise, all wanted to see approaching Amitabh Bachchan. Then Sachin entered the hall and Amitabh was leading the queue to get a grab of the GENIUS!!"

17) "He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also."- Waqar Younis

18) A banner once said-' I will see God when I die but till then I will see Sachin '

19) "Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the world"- Allan Donald

20) In one of Allan Donald's interview - "I was bowling to Sachin and he hit me for two fours in a row. One from point and the other in between point and gully. That was the last two balls of the over and the over after that we (SA) took a wicket and during the group meeting i told Jonty (Rhodes) to be alert and i know a way to pin Sachin. And I delivered the first ball of my next over and it was a fuller length delevery outside offstump. And I shouted 'catch'. To my astonishment the ball was hit to the cover boundary. Such was the brilliance of Sachin. His reflex time is the best I have ever seen. Its like 1/20th of a sec. To get his wicket better not prepare. Atleast you wont regret if he hits you for boundaries."

21) Peter Rebouck, Aussie journalist- "On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!!"

22) He is someone sent from up there to play cricket and go back. - Ravi Shashtri

23) Sachin is crickets GOD - Barry Richards

24) A flighted full toss on Leg stump by spinner. Any other batsman will play this shot on leg side by pulling or glance or flick but Sachin made space and played a perfect cover drive for four runs. "The shot played on this ball is only possible for GOD Of Cricket " - Martin Crowe

25) What we [zimbabwe] need is 10 tendulkars.- Paul Strang

26) There is no shame losing to such a great player(sachin). - Steve Waugh

27) I would go to bed having nightmares of sachin dancing down the ground and hitting me for sixes.
- Shane Warne

28) His life seems to be a stillness in a frantic world... [When he goes out to bat], it is beyond chaos - it is a frantic appeal by a nation to one man. The people see him as a God.- Matthew Hayden

29) It's scary, where the hell do we bowl to him.- Border

30) If I had to bowl to Sachin I would bowl with a helmet on. He hits the ball so hard.- Dennis Lillie

31) Don't bowl him bad balls, he hits the good ones for fours." - Michael Kasprowicz

32) You might pitch a ball on the off stump and think you have bowled a good ball and he walks across and hits it for two behind midwicket. His bat looks so heavy but he just waves it around like it's a toothpick. Brett Lee, on Sachin Tendulkar's batting, 1999

33) I think he is marvellous. I think he will fit in whatever category of Cricket that has been played or will be played, from the first ball that has ever been bowled to the last ball that's going to be. He can play in any era and at any level. He is 99.5% Perfect.. I'll pay to watch him play. - Viv Richards

34) Consensus is that Sir Donald Bradman was the best batsman ever to play Cricket. Sir Don did not play One-Day Cricket but if he did, he could easily be Sachin Tendulkar. - Barry Richards

36) He is a perfectly balanced batsman and knows perfectly well when to attack and when to play defensive cricket. He has developed the ability to treat bowlers all over the world with contempt and can destroy any attack with utmost ease. - Greg Chappell and " I'd like to see him go out and bat one day with a stump. I tell you he'd do okay"- Greg Chappell

37) I was fielding in the covers, Tendulkar came out to bat in his debut Test at Karachi. I still remember Waqar Younis was at his peak form at that time. Tendulkar tried to drive Waqar through the covers off his very first ball in Test cricket but was beaten all ends up. But I walked to captain Imran Khan and told him 'this kid looks very good' and Imran agreed with me. - Abdul Qadir

38) "In an over I can bowl six different balls. But then Sachin looks at me with a sort of gentle arrogance down the pitch as if to say 'Can you bowl me another one?'" - Adam Hollioke

39) The more I see him, the more I want to see him. - Azhar

40) If sachin plays well..india sleeps well - Harsha bhogle

41) You have to decide for yourself whether you're bowling well or not. He's going to hit you for fours and sixes anyway. Kasprowicz has a superior story. During the Bangalore Test, frustrated, he went to Dennis Lillee and asked, "Mate, do you see any weaknesses?" Lillee replied, "No Michael, as long as you walk off with your pride that's all you can do". - Shane Warne

42) "I never get tired during umpiring whenever sachin is on crease" - Rudy Kortzen

43) Playing in the same team as Sachin is a huge honour. His balance of mind, shrewd judgement, modesty and, above all, his technical brilliance make him my all-time hero... You can't get a more complete cricketer than Sachin. He has everything that a cricketer needs to have.
As a batsman, he has the technique, the hunger and the desire for runs. He always contributes with the bat as well as on the field. He also is a good fielder and bowls when needs. You really can't ask for a better cricketer than Sachin... He is a terrific person and has handled pressure brilliantly. He has handled his success very well and doesn't have any airs about him. He is a great guy and very good team man. In his heart of hearts, he is a very simple and down to earth person.- Dravid

44) "I dont know what to bowl at him. I bowled an inswinger and he drove me through the covers of the front foot. Then I bowled an outswinger and he again punched through the covers of the backfoot. He is the toughest batsmen I've bowled to. He should live long and score lots of runs, but not against pakistan(smiling) "Wasim Akram

45) I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two...high compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel! in reference to Sachin Tendulkar. - Sir Don Bradman

46) "Sachin Paaji..I remember ad where that little kid is playing with the car and his father tells him: "Oy chote bas kar yaar" and the kid replies... Papa ki Kara petrol katamm hi nahin honda" - Yuvraj Singh on Twitter after Sachin's knock of 200*

47) "There will never be another Sachin Tendulkar."- Muttiah Muralitharan.

48) India's fortune will depend on how many runs the little champion scores. There is no doubt Tendulkar is the real thing.- Sunil Gavaskar

49) "He continues to give more than 100 per cent and his schoolboy-like enthusiasm for the game is something I envy and admire. For the team he is the best available coaching manual." - Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

50) One of my favourite by Andy Flower: "There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others."

Which is your favourite?

This was a tribute to a man who exhausted the whole vocabulary for adjectives and superlatives in the English language! Maybe its time, we expanded the vocabulary and added more words, just so that we can describe him!

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